School
lunch lines across the country are filled with greasy, high-fat cheeseburgers,
chicken wings, and pizza. But this past March, PCRM helped Broward
County, Fla.—the
sixth-largest school district in the country—introduce
Gardenburger’s Flame Grilled vegan burger to students at Everglades High School,
Driftwood Middle School, and Eagle Point
Elementary.
The veggie initiative began with Ashley Capps, a 10th
grade student at Everglades
High School who wanted
more vegetarian options in the lunchroom. To persuade administrators that
students would buy meatless meals, she circulated a petition that was signed by
more than 100 of her classmates.
PCRM
worked with Broward
County to explore vegan
lunch options that are healthy and taste good. PCRM
nutritionists suggested the Gardenburger, and at the request of a Broward County school board member, PCRM helped
the district’s food service department roll out the new veggie burger.
PCRM president Neal
Barnard, M.D., visited each school to speak to parents and administrators
about the healthfulness of vegetarian options.
Three
PCRM staff members traveled to Florida
to assist with the marketing and taste-testing of the burgers. They gave out
more than 3,400 samples of meatless patties topped with ketchup, mustard, and
pickles. Students were so excited about trying the new lunch item that PCRM
staffers could barely keep their sample trays full. Many supportive teaches
also tried samples and agreed to hand out flyers to encourage their students to
buy the burger.
Everglades
High School, where
students have a large food court with 12 choices, sold 100 veggie burgers, and
70 additional students bought lunch that day. The school was so pleased with
these results that they sold the Gardenburger every day during March. Driftwood Middle School sold a remarkable 700
veggie burgers. And Eagle Point Elementary, where the veggie burger was
competing with a student favorite—cheese pizza—sold about 580
burgers, and 190 more students purchased meals than on a typical day.
Each
Gardenburger has 90 calories, 11 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, zero cholesterol,
and only 4 grams of fat. Broward
County is also planning
to offer Garden Chili, rice and beans, and other vegetarian options. If
students continue to purchase the veggie burgers, administrators will roll out
vegan options to the entire district in the fall.
